[Dixielandjazz] Gospel-Blues-Jazz in that order

[TCASHWIGG at aol.com]

Wanna Save or reinvent Dixieland popularity?

This is how it's done folks,   and if we all got together on the same team we 
could do it too.
If we all organized behind a guy like Jim Cullum, just maybe we could get PBS 
to do the same for OKOM.  Especially if we go get a major sponsor like 
Scorcese obviously did with Volkswagen of America.

A German auto manufacturer sponsoring American Culture presentations and 
preservation, now ain't that a shame, and whose fault is it that all our greatest 
music is now owned by Companies other than American labels.  We should however 
be thankful that at least the Europeans and Japanese understand the value of 
our only contribution to World Culture and are willing to not only embrace it 
but to keep it alive, not to mention sell it back to us for five times what 
they bought it for.

I remember when you could not sell a blues record for $3.99 in the USA and 
now we are buying back CDs of the same music for $33.00 or more for imports.

Cheers,

Tom Wiggins

Martin Scorsese Presents THE BLUES on PBS

"The Blues are the roots; everything else is the fruits." -- Willie Dixon

THE BLUES, executive produced by Martin Scorcese and exclusively sponsored
by Volkswagen of America, Inc., is a seven-part television series driven by
the beat of performances by famous players from every kind of music the
blues has inspired - hip-hop, rhythm and blues, soul, country and rock 'n'
roll.

Volkswagen has provided additional funds to describe the seven 2-hour
telecasts for the benefit of blind and visually-impaired people and their
families. The descriptive narration is available on the SAP channel of
stereo TVs and VCRs. The series will also be captioned for viewers who are
deaf or hard of hearing, with funding provided by the U.S. Department of
Education. Descriptive narration and the closed captioning for the series
will be produced by the Media Access Group at WGBH.

THE BLUES will be televised nationally on PBS from 9-11pm on the following
dates: (Check local listings for exact broadcast dates and times.)

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2003: "FEEL LIKE GOING HOME"
Director Martin Scorsese (The Last Waltz, Raging Bull, Gangs of New York)

pays homage to the Delta blues. Musician Corey Harris travels through
Mississippi and on to West Africa, exploring the roots of the music. The
film celebrates the early Delta bluesmen through original performances
(including Willie King, Taj Mahal, Otha Turner and Ali Farka Touré) and rare
archival footage (featuring Son House, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker).

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2003: "THE SOUL OF A MAN"
Director Wim Wenders (Buena Vista Social Club; Wings of Desire; Paris,
Texas) explores the lives of his favorite blues artists - Skip James, Blind
Willie Johnson and J. B. Lenoir - in a film that is part history and part
personal pilgrimage. The film tells the story of these lives in music
through a fictional film-within-a-film, rare archival footage, and covers of
their songs by contemporary musicians, including Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda
Williams, Lou Reed, Eagle Eye Cherry, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, The Jon
Spencer Blues Explosion, Cassandra Wilson, Garland Jeffreys, Los Lobos and
others.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2003: "THE ROAD TO MEMPHIS"
Director Richard Pearce (The Long Walk Home, Leap of Faith, A Family Thing)
traces the musical odyssey of blues legend B.B. King in a film that pays
tribute to the city that gave birth to a new style of blues. Pearce's homage
to Memphis features original performances by B.B. King, Bobby Rush, Rosco
Gordon and Ike Turner, as well as historical footage of Howlin' Wolf and
Fats Domino.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2003: "WARMING BY THE DEVIL'S FIRE"
Director Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep, My Brother's Wedding, To Sleep
with Anger) presents a tale about a young boy's encounter with his family in
Mississippi in 1955, and intergenerational tensions between the heavenly
strains of gospel and the devilish moans of the blues.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2003: "GODFATHERS AND SONS"
Director Marc Levin (Slam, Whiteboys, Brooklyn Babylon) travels to Chicago
with hip-hop legend Chuck D (of Public Enemy) and Marshall Chess (son of
Leonard Chess and heir to the Chess Records legacy) to explore the heyday of
Chicago blues as they unite to produce an album that seeks to bring veteran
blues players together with contemporary hip-hop musicians. Along with
never-before-seen archival footage of Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and the
Paul Butterfield Blues Band, are original performances by Koko Taylor, Otis
Rush, Magic Slim, Ike Turner and Sam Lay.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2003: "RED, WHITE AND BLUES"
Director Mike Figgis (Stormy Monday, Leaving Las Vegas, Timecode) joins
musicians such as Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Tom Jones
performing and talking about the music of the early 60's British invasion
that reintroduced the blues sound to America.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2003: "PIANO BLUES"
Director - and piano player - Clint Eastwood (Play Misty for Me, Bird,
Unforgiven) explores his life-long passion for the piano blues, using a
treasure trove of rare historical acts as well as interviews and
performances by such living legends as Pinetop Perkins and Jay McShann, as
well as Dave Brubeck and Marcia Ball.